“Swingtown

Two more crime dramas are on tap this week — if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you haven’t been able to tell from my columns over the years, I’m not a huge fan of cop shows. I’ve just seen too many of them and they tend not to catch my eye unless they veer toward the offbeat — like “The Shield,” “The Wire,” or “Dexter.”

This week brings the debuts of “The Eleventh Hour” (CBS) and “Life On Mars” (ABC) and it’s the latter that breaks new ground — or old new ground. It’s a remake of the British hit about a modern-day detective who, after an accident, wakes up in 1973. And I’m happy to report that this time they didn’t lose the show in translation. In fact, I’m declaring it to be the best pilot I’ve seen so far this season.

Here’s my reviews from today’s papers:

It’s easy to mock CBS’ relentless obsession with murder procedurals. Judging from all the homicidal mayhem occurring nightly on the network’s airwaves, you might think its call letters stand for Corpses, Bodybags and Stiffs.

But can you really fault CBS for a lack of creative ambition? Cops and killers, after all, tend to generate robust Nielsen numbers. Conversely, it seems as if anytime the network tries to color outside the lines with something such as, say, vampires (“Moonlight”), sex-addicted suburbanites (“Swingtown”) or nuclear calamity (“Jericho”), it crashes and burns. Continue Reading →

We’ve got a couple of series pickups to announce: HBO apparently likes what it sees of its “True Blood,” its new vampire drama from Alan Ball (“Six Feet Under”). After only two episodes, the cable network has ordered another season of the show.

Also, CBS has renewed its cop series, “Flashpoint.” Look for the show to return sometime next year. “Flashpoint” is kind of an interesting story. Originating from Canada, it didn’t arrive with great expectations as CBS not only debuted it during the summer, but originally tossed it onto the barren soil of Friday nights. Continue Reading →

The network has moved it to Thursday nights at 10 beginning this week. Meanwhile, “Swingtown” goes from Thursdays to Fridays.

Consider it a reward — and a test — for “Flashpoint,” which has genereated impressive ratings (for a Friday show) during its first two airings. Now, we’ll see if the Canadian import can continue its momentum on a night that generally attracts more viewers.

The show, which focuses on the risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the elite Strategic Response Unit, was pretty much regarded as a summer burnoff by CBS. But ratings have exceeded expectations and CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler said during the TV critics press tour that it’s possible CBS could order more episodes of the drama.

A lot of people, including me, have written about how risky the new drama “Swingtown”Â (10 p.m. tonight, Channel 5) is — especially for CBS, a network known for usually playing it safe.

But let’s not give CBS too much credit for beingÂ ultra-bold. “Swingtown,” after all, was supposed to debut during the regular season, when the audience levels are much higher. Instead, it has been relegated to the summer, where networks typically “burn off” programs in which they have little faith.Â Â

Also, judging from tonight’s pilot episode, the show very much hews to broadcast standards when it comes to depictions of sex. I’ve seen episodes of “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal” that were moreÂ steamy.